[OPINION] Why ‘Trump Out’?

• Thousands of Filipinos are protesting US President Donald Trump's visit to Manila for the 49th ASEAN Summit, under the slogan 'Trump Out,' due to his controversial policies and actions.
• Critics argue that Trump's presidency is marked by racism, misogyny, authoritarianism, and militaristic foreign policies that threaten global peace and undermine democratic values.

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When US President Donald Trump arrives in Manila next week for the 49th ASEAN Summit, he will be greeted not only by the red carpet rolled but by the Philippine government but by the red flags and banners of thousands of Filipinos protesting his visit.

Under the slogan “Trump Out,” various activist groups, people’s organizations and social movements have declared 12 days of protest from November 4 until Trump’s arrival on Monday, November 16.

Why protest the visit of the leader of a country that our government considers its closest and most important ally?

Trump is arguably the most racist, misogynistic, arrogant, and self-serving president in modern US history. And that’s from the point of view of many Americans themselves as shown by the result of the recent US midterm elections.

His political career has been built on demonizing immigrants, vilifying Muslims, degrading women, attacking minorities, and cultivating fear and hatred on those he considers enemies.

His administration’s brutal crackdown on undocumented immigrants has torn families apart, militarized communities, and subjected suspected people of color to arbitrary detention and deportation. His attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion, particularly surrounding gender, race, religion, and reproductive rights have emboldened right wing forces who want to reverse decades of social progress.

Trump’s misogyny is not merely a matter of offensive language. His repeated degradation of women and attacks on their rights, plus membership in the so-called Epstein class, reveal a worldview that upholds male domination and privilege.

Nor is his corruption simply a matter of rhetoric. He was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records. He makes no qualms about mixing public office, private business interests, and personal political loyalty, raising serious conflict of interest issues and questions about his abuse of power.

Most alarming is Trump’s authoritarianism.

He has repeatedly attacked the press, demonized political opponents, undermined democratic institutions, and encouraged the politics of intimidation. His refusal to accept defeat in the 2020 elections caused the January 6, 2021 assault on the US Capitol.

Trump’s rule bear the hallmarks of a fascistic political project: extreme nationalism, racism, a strongman cult, contempt for democratic accountability, and the use of state power to silence dissent. Surely, Filipinos who endured the Marcos dictatorship recognize the danger and reject such kind of politics.

A warmonger and threat to world peace

Trump claims to be a peacemaker. But his actions show the opposite.

In total disregard of his promise to end America’s forever wars and in flagrant violation of international law, he has pursued a policy of military aggression, coercive sanctions, and intervention against countries that refuse to submit to Washington’s dictates.

From the genocide in Gaza to the senseless war on Iran, from the economic strangulation of Cuba to the hostage of Venezuela and other Caribbean countries, from his “Donroe Doctrine” to his cold war with China, Trump’s foreign policy shows the willingness of the world’s most advanced and powerful military to impose US interests through force.

His support for Israel exposes the US’s hypocrisy as a champion of human rights and international law. Same for the continued use of economic sanctions against Iran, Cuba and Venezuela that punish entire populations while claiming to promote freedom and democracy.

Far from promoting peace, Trump is accelerating a global arms race, demanding increased military spending from allies, and treating international relations as a contest of military and economic domination. 

As usual, the US military-industrial complex, giant energy corporations, big tech, financial institutions, and other powerful interests stand to profit from it all while ordinary people — workers, farmers, women, children, and entire communities whose lives and livelihoods are destroyed by bombs, blockades, sanctions, and forced displacement — suffer.

As Filipinos, we have every reason to oppose Trump’s wars. We have a painful history of American colonial conquest, military intervention, and support for dictatorships. How can we possibly welcome an American president whose foreign policies are a throwback to the colonial era?

Plunder and war in the guise of security

The most compelling reason for us to protest Trump’s visit is what he intends to do to our country vis a vis China. Under the Marcos regime, the Philippines has become a crucial platform for America’s strategic competition with our most powerful neighbor.

The expansion of US access to nine of our military bases under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), expanded and neverending joint military exercises, deployment of advanced missile systems and drone facilities, establishment of military warehouse and logistics hubs, and growing integration of our armed forces into the US Pacific Command have pushed our country to the frontlines of the escalating US-China rivalry.

This is especially dangerous given the unresolved territorial and maritime disputes in the West Philippine Sea. Our legitimate maritime concerns are being used to justify an increasingly militarized confrontation with China, with our fisherfolk, coast guard and navy bearing the consequences of a conflict between the two major powers.

The US is not strengthening and expanding its military presence in our islands out of an altruistic concern for our fisherfolk or our sovereignty. It’s strategic objective is to contain China’s rise as a superpower, preserve US military dominance in Asia, and secure access to the region’s vital sea lanes, markets, resources, and infrastructure.

Then there’s Trump’s weaponization of our industrial development.

The proposed Pax Silica Economic Security Zone in Tarlac aims to integrate the Philippines into US-controlled supply chains for critical minerals, semiconductors, and other ingredients for the new arms race involving artificial intelligence.  

It remains to be seen whether Pax Silica will lead to the development of genuine Filipino industries or create decent and sustainable jobs. What is more likely is that our land, labor, energy, water, and natural resources will be used as cheap inputs for US big tech and military-industrial partners.

What will happen to the indigenous peoples, farming communities and the environment affected by Pax Silica? Who will control these AI hubs, their resources and technologies? Will these dual-use facilities serve as military targets in a future US-China war?

The “Trump Out” protests target Trump and his unhinged regime. Rather than an expression of hostility, it is an act of solidarity with the American people who just last week voted overwhelmingly to reject Trump’s authoritarianism, racism, and wars.

Real friendship with the US requires resisting its imperialist agenda, which hurt both Americans and Filipinos and other peoples of the world. 

Trump, of course, is only the tip of the iceberg. US foreign policy transcends administrations and political parties. But we have to start somewhere and fight the battles that come our way any which way we can.  

Trump’s visit is a chance to assert our dignity as a sovereign nation. We say “Trump Out” not because we hate America, but because we don’t want to be its military outpost anymore, its source of cheap labor and resources, or its faraway battlefield. – Rappler.com

Teddy Casiño served as Bayan Muna’s partylist representative from 2004-2013 and was a former commissioner of the EDSA People Power Commission. He is the current chairperson of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, a alliance of nationalist and democratic peoples’ organizations and movements in the Philippines.